Hear
by comet77
Summary: This is a story about Nicolet, a deaf exorcist with an unusual innocence and a dark past. But without even knowing it, she has caught the loving eye of another exorcist...
1. Chapter 1

Hear Part I

* Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN D. GRAY MAN OR ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS.

The young woman pushed her way through a clump of nettles and continued on toward the tall mountain. Her chestnut brown hair waved in the wind as it blew, making her squint to see where she was going. Her emerald green eyes watered, but the wind just blew harder. At the foot of the mountain a tall man with a silly beret on his head greeted her. 'How are you doing? How was your trip?' he signed to her. 'Great, everything went smoothly,' she signed back. "Good," said Komui out loud. Nicolet could read lips, but she liked it better when people signed to her. She felt less out of place. Nicolet knew Komui since she was a toddler, and Komui loved her like his daughter. He even learned sign language for her. Komui motioned her to a wooden door that lead to the canal waterway, getting into a small boat with a finder standing at the front, ready to go. As soon as her two suitcases were settled in the back, Komui waved his hand at the driver, signaling for him to go.

The ride was short, for the water canal didn't go very deep into the mountain.

"Here we are!" exclaimed Komui. Nicolet remained silent. Being born deaf, and with no family, the poor girl never learned how to speak. Komui tapped her on the shoulder, and she turned to look at him. 'We're here,' he signed. She smiled excitedly, then grabbed her two bags and jumped out of the boat like a child at a circus. Komui pointed at the elevator across the clearing. Nicolet understood right away, and ran across before Komui could do anything else. He smiled at himself. She's such a character, he thought to himself. She waited impatiently for him in the elevator and soon Komui joined her inside.

'Well, this is your room,' Komui signed. 'You can meet all the other exorcists tomorrow; its too late to meet anyone now. You just get settled in and get some sleep.'

Nicolet nodded. She hugged Komui gratefully, and stepped into her room. It was quite plain, with only a bed, bookshelf, and a desk with a chair and a lamp. A large window dominated the back wall, giving her a view of the ocean. She dragged her suitcases into the room and rolled them to the foot of the bed. She looked up from her bags and saw Komui still there, and realized he forgot to tell her something.

'I'll send my sister here every morning to wake you up, ok?' he signed to her. She nodded joyfully, for Lenalee was a great friend, and this service would be much appreciated. 'Thank you,' she signed back. Komui nodded, signed Goodnight, closed her door, then left.

Nicolet pulled her pajamas out of her first suitcase and threw them on, not bothering to unpack the rest of her belongings. After changing, she threw herself onto her bed, hid under the covers, and fell asleep instantly.

Lenalee nudged Nicolet, pulling the covers off of her to wake her up. Nicolet opened her eyes and sat up, happy to see Lenalee there.

"Good morning!" greeted Lenalee, making sure Nicolet was looking at her. 'Good morning,' Nicolet signed back.

Lenalee motioned her out of bed, picking up her suitcase and setting it on the bed. Lenalee pulled out a pretty white halter-top dress with brilliant red roses scattered across the fabric, holding it up for Nicolet to inspect. Nicolet nodded gratefully, and took the dress and started to undress. Lenalee turned around to give her some privacy and noticed that she left the door open. She ran across the room to shut it, and when she turned around Nicolet had already changed into the dress. It fit perfectly, and looked absolutely adorable on her, bringing out her green eyes. Lenalee nodded in approval and waved her hand to have Nicolet look at her.

"Let's go get some breakfast, shall we?"

Nicolet nodded, and followed her friend out of her room and down the hall.

The cafeteria was flowing with people, and Lenalee lead Nicolet to the line to order her food. When they got to the front of the line, the cook looked her over and smiled happily.

"A newcomer huh? Aren't you just the cutest thing! What can I get you honey?"

Nicolet pointed at Lenalee. The cook looked to Lenalee then back at Nicolet, confused.

"She's deaf," said Lenalee quietly, making sure Nicolet was looking ahead and not at her lips. The cook nodded in understanding.

"Well, what does she want, then? I'll make her anything she wants!" he said, smiling from ear to ear. Nicolet signed something to her.

Crap, thought Lenalee. I dont know sign language as well as my brother.

"Um, what was that?" asked Lenalee wearily.

Nicolet signed it again.

'Same.'

"Oh!" exclaimed Lenalee. "She'll have the same thing as I am. The usual please, Jerry."

"Coming right up!" said Jerry excitedly.

Lenalee turned to her friend.

"Sorry about that. Do you want to go find a table? I'll wait here for the food."

Nicolet nodded and walked to the tables. All of them were almost completely full. She wandered around the room, looking for two seats together. At last, she found one occupied by a group of exorcists. She came to to end of the table and pointed at the two seats.

All of them looked at her weirdly, wondering to themselves what she wanted.

Finally one with white hair stood up and asked "Is there something you need, Miss?"

She nodded yes and continued pointing at the seats.

"I don't get it," muttered one with dark black hair in a ponytail, annoyed.

The one with white hair looked at her curiously. She blushed under his gaze, not used to having a boy look at her so closely.

"Heh heh, she's blushing. Allen, stop looking at her like that, you're embarrassing her." A young man with red hair and a bandanna tied on his head like a headband stood up and looked her over.

"Well," he began, "she obviously wants something. What do you need?"

But Nicolet wasn't watching him. She looked up to see everyone looking at her as if they were waiting for something. She looked around the table with questioning eyes.

"What's wrong with her? Why doesn't she answer the question?" asked the dark-haired one.

"Shut up, Kanda!" said Allen sharply, then turned to Nicolet again. "Maybe she can't speak."

Just then Lenalee appeared behind Nicolet with a big smile, startling everybody.

"Hey guys! Can we sit with you?"

Allen nodded.

"Of course! Is that what you were asking, Miss? If these two seats were open?"

Nicolet nodded.

"Oh! Well that explains a lot!" exclaimed Allen, sitting back down.

The red head sat back down too, studying the young woman closely.

Lenalee sat herself down next to the one called Allen, and Nicolet sat on the end, looking down all the while.

"So who's this?" whispered Allen to Lenalee. "She seems different. Is she new?"

Lenalee nodded in response, then whispered back, alittle louder so that everyone but Nicolet could hear. "She's deaf, and she can't speak."

The one called Kanda scoffed.

"Then what's she doing here?" he asked angrily. "Is she an exorcist?"

"Yes. We just found out that she's a compatible user, so she's going to stay here for a while to train. We're going to try to figure her innocence out though first. It's quite strange."

The red head sighed.

"Can I help take care of her?"

Everyone eyed him suspiciously.

"Lavi, she's not just some girl you can mess around with, she's different." said Lenalee.

"I know!" Lavi retorted. "I want to help, honest. She's...I don't know, different, like you said. I like her...and I want to get to know her."

Lenalee sighed.

"Alright, you can help. But I'm watching you."


	2. Chapter 2

Hear Part II

*Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN D. GRAY MAN OR ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS

Lenalee led Nicolet to Komui's office. She turned to Nicolet, waving her hand for her friend to look at her.

"We're gonna study your innocence a little more before we start your training, alright?"

Nicolet looked disappointed.

'How long is that?' she signed.

Before Lenalee could respond, someone behind them called her name.

"Lenalee!"

She turned to see Lavi hurrying towards them. Lenalee sighed, hoping this wouldn't take long. Finally Lavi reached them.

"You guys left so quick I didn't get a chance to introduce myself to the new girl," he began, panting. He turned to Nicolet.

"Hi. My name's Lavi, nice to meet you...?"

He turned back to Lenalee.

"What's her name?" asked Lavi gently, his eyes still on Nicolet.

"Nicolet."

"Nicolet..." he repeated to himself silently, a sort of sparkle in his eye. He held out his hand to Nicolet, smiling all the way. She took it gratefully and shook it, smiling back at him with an expression of pure gold.

"Well, I'll leave you guys then. It was nice meeting you, Nicolet." He let go of her hand, smiled one last smile, then left them.

Lenalee sat Nicolet down on the cluttered couch in Komui's office, then sat herself next to her. Komui sat down behind his desk and took a sip from his mug of coffee.

"Well, Nicolet, it seems that you have a very rare type of innocence, in fact an UNSEEN type of innocence. It is a parasitic type, just like Allen and Krory, but you can turn it into any weapon of choice, like an equipment type. According to your files, you have activated your innocence only once, and since then haven't been able to do it again. At that time, you turned it into a..." he looked down at the papers, "scythe, I believe?"

Nicolet nodded.

"Well, Nicolet, we are going to find out how to do that again, plus learn more about your innocence. We'll get started first thing tomorrow. Today you can spend you time...um...mingling, and getting settled as well. You can finish unpacking, then start getting to know everyone. Is that ok?"

Nicolet jumped up from the couch and ran behind his desk and hugged him tightly.

"I take this as a 'yes'." said Komui, laughing.

Nicolet sat down on her bed, looking around her new room, many thoughts running through her head.

_I finally get to be an exorcist,_ she thought, smiling to herself. _Now I can live with Komui and Lenalee forever._

She got up and began unpacking all her things, putting her possessions in their rightful places in the room and, since there was no dresser or closet, folded her clothes and put them in a row in the back of the room against the wall. Komui said that a closet was on the way, so she decided to leave her clothes there for now.

When she was finished unpacking, she left her room and began wandering around the castle, looking for someone new to meet. The only person that she was really introduced to was Lavi, and he came to her to do that for her. She smiled to herself. For some reason, she liked Lavi. He stuck out in her mind, making her think about him incessantly. She pushed the thought out of her mind and concentrated on finding more people to "mingle with" as Komui said.

Then she saw the young man with the black hair tied in a ponytail walking towards her. She ran over to him smiling cutely, stopping him.

'Hello,' she signed. 'My name is N-I-C-O-L-E-T.' she finger spelled.

"Uh...what?"

She frowned. Then she noticed that he had a notebook in his hand, and pointed at it.

"What," he asked looking down at the notebook. "do you want it or something?"

She nodded. As he handed it to her, she saw a pen lying on the floor and picked it up. She began writing on the first page of the notebook.

'Hello. My name is Nicolet. What is your name?'

She showed it to him. With a raised brow, he motioned for her to look at him, then said clearly "Kanda."

She smiled, then held out her hand for the notebook again. Kanda handed it back to her, and she began writing again. She turned it around for him to see.

'Nice to meet you, Kanda?'

He nodded, then said when she was watching "That's right."

She smiled again, then wrote on the notebook once more. She showed it to him.

'Thank you for talking to me. I have to go now, but can I take this notebook with me? It will come in handy.'

Kanda nodded.

"Go ahead."

With that, he bowed his head, and walked away.

Nicolet watched until he rounded the corner, then continued down the hall, her white dress flowing behind her. She turned to the next page in the notebook and looked up to see yet another exorcist heading to her room wearily. She ran up to her and feverishly began writing on the notebook, then showed the page to the exorcist for her to see.

'Hi.'

The woman smiled, then held out her hand for the notebook. Nicolet handed it to her hopefully, and the woman wrote something on the paper. She handed it back.

'I'm Miranda. Nice to meet you, Miss. What is your name? I saw you in the cafeteria sitting with Allen and Lenalee.'

Nicolet wrote back happily, handing the notebook over to her new friend.

'Nicolet. It is nice to meet you too. Who is Allen?'

Miranda took the notebook and wrote her reply, then handed it back.

'He's the exorcist you saw with the white hair. He's a sweetie, I'm sure you'll meet him soon enough.'

Nicolet giggled at the remark, then wrote back.

'Thank you. I will leave you now to whatever you were doing. It was very nice to meet you. Good day.'

Miranda nodded, then waved in response. She then opened the door to her room and left Nicolet to her 'mission'.

Nicolet hurried down the hall to find the stairs. She thought that maybe if she went down to the main floor, she could find more people to "talk" with.


	3. Chapter 3

Hear Part III

*Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN D. GRAY MAN OR ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS.

Nicolet sped down the stairs to the main floor. Science department scientists were bustling around, following Komui's orders, getting new files and filing old ones. She saw a couple of other people wandering around as she was, and they weren't scientists. She dodged through the busy workaholics and came upon the young man she saw in the cafeteria with white hair. She stopped in front of him, then began writing on a new sheet of paper in the notebook. She handed it to him.

'Hello, my name is Nicolet. Are you Allen?'

Allen laughed, then nodded.

"Yes, that's me. Nice to meet you."

Nicolet nodded happily then held her hand out for the notebook again. Allen obliged, and she began writing again. She turned the notebook around for him to see.

'It is nice to meet you also. Miss Miranda said that you are a "sweetie", as she said, as she was right. Thank you for taking the time to talk to me.'

Allen giggled at Miranda's comment, then nodded. He made sure she was looking at him, then said goodbye. Nicolet nodded, then scampered away looking for someone else. Allen smiled to himself. _What a nice girl,_ he thought as he watched her leave through the crowd.

Nicolet weaved through the flow of people, and from the corner of her eye she saw yet another person out of place. She made her way through to the person, and noticed that he was neither an exorcist, nor a scientist. She continued on nevertheless, and stopped in front of the person with the notebook facing him, the already written message displayed for him to see. The old man chuckled.

'Hi. My name is Nicolet, sir. I am new here. I have noticed that you are not like Allen or Lenalee. May I ask what your name is?'

The old man scratched his head.

'I General T-E-I-D-O-L.' he signed. 'I exorcist also, but am higher rank.'

Nicolet stared in surprise at his sudden signing, then nodded in understanding.

'I see. Thank you for signing, a lot easier than writing.' she signed back happily.

The general laughed.

'Nice meet you, N-I-C-O-L-E-T. I must leave now.' The general smiled. 'Bye.'

Nicolet nodded in response and smiled back, then made her leave as well. As the two parted ways, Nicolet's stomach told her that it was time for lunch. She headed to the big double doors at the end of the busy hallway and made her way towards the cafeteria.

"Ah! Nicolet! How are you today?" said Jerry happily. Nicolet showed him the notebook, indicating she was going to write on it. After writing her response, she showed the notebook to him.

'Fine, thank you Jerry. I will have a salad please, with ranch dressing on the side. Thank you.'

Jerry read the note, then nodded vigorously.

"Coming right up!" he exclaimed when Nicolet was looking at him.

Nicolet turned and walked to the window where the food was meant to be picked up. There, leaning against the wall, was Lavi. He smiled at her when she approached.

"Hey, Nicolet! Do you need any help with anything?" he asked hopefully.

She nodded, pointing at the tables. Then with a jump she remembered the notebook she had tucked under her arm. She wrote a response quickly, then turned to show it to him.

'Can I sit with you again? I don't have anywhere else to sit.'

Lavi read the note, then nodded.

"Of course you can! You don't need to ask."

Just then Jerry came out with a tray holding Nicolet's salad. He handed it to Nicolet.

"There you go honey! Enjoy!"

Nicolet took the tray and shot him a grateful glance, then nodded in thanks. Lavi took her hand and led her to their table.

"Come on, I'll show you to our table."

Nicolet blushed at the sudden gesture, but followed him to one of the wooden tables.

Lenalee was there, along with the people she had met earlier, Kanda, Allen, and Miranda. Lavi sat her down next to Kanda, and he sat on her other side. She smiled gratefully for being sat down next to a new friend, but noticed that no one was sitting on his other side. Oh well, she thought, and pushed the thought away.

Just then she noticed that Jerry had forgotten her ranch dressing, and as she got up to go back and get it, Lavi stood up too.

"What's the matter?" he asked.

She pointed at the salad, then looked back at him. 'Forgot,' she signed.

Lavi looked to Lenalee, who nodded in response.

"Jerry forgot something. She's going to go get it."

"Oh." said Lavi, looking back at Nicolet. She smiled at him, then turned and walked towards the cafeteria window. Lavi stared after her.

"She's different, just like you said earlier, Lenalee...I don't know what it is, but there's something about her..."

Lavi stopped. Why was he talking about this with them? They wouldn't understand.

"Never mind," he muttered, sitting back down. Lenalee smiled to herself.

_It seems that Nicolet has an admirer, _she thought, giggling.


	4. Chapter 4

Hear part IV

*Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN D. GRAY MAN OR ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS.

Nicolet slowly walked towards her room. The encounter with Lavi earlier had stayed on her mind all day. He seemed to like her, as did everyone else, but something about him made her all warm inside; made her want to laugh, but cry at the same time. She wanted to leap around happily but scream her heart out, or dance with an imaginary figure but sob all the while. What is going on?

She pushed the tangled thoughts aside and continued towards her room. When she got to the door, she noticed it was open a crack. Had someone been inside?

Nicolet tentatively opened the door. As she looked around, everything seemed untouched, except her bed. It was made.

Now Nicolet is a nice, polite, friendly girl, but when it came to making her bed, it just wasn't an option. It was always left as a heap of tangled sheets and blankets, almost a nest for her to retreat to every night. She NEVER made it.

But who did this?

She decided to go find Lenalee to see who did the deed, and as she was walking out her door, there stood Lavi.

"Hey, Nicolet."

Nicolet smiled up at him, the one she has been thinking about all day, the ONE. Suddenly that odd feeling entered her stomach again, and she began to feel sick.

"Are you alright?" he asked cautiously. "You're as white as a sheet."

He stepped closer to her. Suddenly the feeling in her stomach was unbearable. She pushed past Lavi to the balcony and leaned over the edge. The height calmed her, and the color returned to her face. When she turned around, Lavi was right behind her, a look of concern in his usually playful green eyes.

"Are you alright?" He asked earnestly.

Nicolet nodded weakly.

"Come. Let me lead you to your room-"

He took her hand and gently pulled her beside him, then put his arm around her waist to support her. Nicolet blushed. He lead her into her bedroom and sat her on her bed, then kneeled down in front of her.

"Now, is there anything I can get for you? What happened back there?"

She looked away. The feeling was coming back. That wonderful, yet horrible feeling.

Lavi waited as she pointed to her stomach.

"Oh...is there something wrong with your stomach?" he asked awkwardly.

Nicolet burst out laughing. Lavi looked away, turning bright red. When he looked up again he saw Nicolet looking into his eyes with a look of pure delight. Just that look made his palms sweat, and he wanted to laugh; laugh his heart out. Just then, Lavi realized he had never heard her voice before.

_It's…it's beautiful._

Lavi looked her in the eyes.

"Nicolet…your voice, it's…it's beautiful. I'm glad I got to hear it."

Nicolet blinked in surprise, turning bright red.

"T…tha…the…than…" she muttered.

Lavi stared at her in surprise. Was she trying to…_talk?_

"Th…thank…y-you…"

Nicolet looked up with eyes of pure triumph. Lavi laughed at the look, then put his hands on her shoulders.

"You did it, Nic."


	5. Chapter 5

Hear part V

Author's note: Hi, I'm comet77. I hope you are enjoying this story so far! Anyway, this story is very special to me, for I am trying to promote people to sign language. I will explain to you about the way Nicolet communicates, for I think I may have confused you quite a bit!

Nicolet communicates with ASL, or American Sign Language. ASL, as you may have noticed, does not use every word in our vocabulary, only the root words of the sentence to get the point. For example: Earlier in this story, Nic was talking to General Teidoll, and to her surprise, he knew ASL. If you noticed, he didn't use all the words that would be normally used; he only used the words that have been converted into signs in ASL. When he told her his name, he finger spelled it for her, because names of course do not have their own signs, unless the name plays a great influence in the history books or something like that.

A less complicated example of how to use ASL is this: "How are you today?" would be signed as 'How you this/now day', because "this" and "now" are the same sign.

I hope this explained a little bit for you!

-comet77

*Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN D. GRAY MAN OR ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS.

Nicolet tore out of the clothes she wore for the day and threw on a night shirt, then settled into her bed with the sheets and blankets like a nest around her. Before she knew it, she was asleep.

Nicolet found herself in a pool of blood, wounds sucking the strength out of her and tears running down her face. The world around her was on fire, and all she could hear were screams of pain and terror echoing in the night, while Nicolet was paralyzed with fear, too weak to stand up. Burning embers of fallen buildings lay all around her, in a perfect circle. But then, all of a sudden, Nicolet was watching this ordeal from above, seeing herself splayed spread eagle on the ground, not moving. Ashes swirled in the wind, and before she knew it they formed the cursed star of the Earl, the pentacle, right above her body, and began to glow a dark purple. Black flames began lapping at her body, and it began to change. Nicolet watched as her still-alive body began turning dark, her eyes wide open, glowing red, her hair turning black, and the stigmata crosses forming on her forehead. Her new "body" stood up, looked straight at Nicolet, and smiled.

"It's over," she sneered.

Nicolet awoke with a gasp, her entire body covered with sweat.

_Just a dream,_ she thought to herself, but her heart was still pounding.

_But…what was that?_

The clock Komui put in her room for her told her that it was just after four-thirty in the morning, but Nicolet knew she wouldn't be able to sleep now. Instead, she found her socks and put them on, then quietly opened her door and stepped outside.

The entire building was dark except for the moon shining in some light from the stain-glass windows. Nicolet shivered. In her hurry to get out of her room, she had forgotten to put on a jacket, and the Order was cold at this time of night. She silently scolded herself for doing something so stupid, but she didn't dare go back in there. Not with the traces of her dream still in her mind.

She decided to try to go to the library, for she remembered a couch sitting in there that she could maybe try to fall back asleep on. She headed down the hall at once, her night gown trailing after her.

The library was dark, but quiet, and something in the air made her racing heart come to a decent pace. Nicolet thought for a moment if it was a good idea to turn on the lights, and thought that since everyone was asleep, it would be alright.

With the lights graciously on, Nicolet found the couch she had been looking for. She settled down on it with her head resting on the arm rest, closing her eyes in trying to relax. Nicolet knew that her first day of training had come at last, and she needed all the rest she could get.

But that dream…no, that nightmare that she had. What did it mean? What was all that? Before Nicolet had become an exorcist, she never did want to take any interest in the things that involved the Earl and the return of "The Three Days of Darkness". Those things scared her, and she didn't want anything to do with them. But she did know that the upside down star she saw above her body was the pentacle, the sign of the Earl. And then her body became a whole new being of its own. What did it all mean?

Nicolet sat up. With all these questions racing through her head, how is she supposed to sleep? She shifted her body into a sitting position, then decided to go walk around. _Maybe wondering around the Order for a while will take my mind off of things… _she thought to herself.

Lavi sat up in his bed, his clock clearly showing five o'clock.

"Time to get up…" he mumbled, yawning.

Bookman had already gotten up and left, leaving Lavi to go to the library for him and pick up yet some more history books for them. Lavi sighed, then pulled himself out of bed.

As soon as he was dressed, Lavi quietly left his room to the library. The whole place was still dark, although that was no surprise. Lavi continued down the dark hallway in a trance, grimacing at the thought of more history books to memorize.

Just then, Lavi heard footsteps in front of him, breaking him from his thoughts. He saw the faint distinction of Nicolet through the darkness, and sure enough, there she was, walking towards him, seeming to not realize he was standing there yet. Lavi moved towards her.

"N…Nic?" he asked as she stopped in front of him. Recognition flashed across her eyes, and emotion came back to her face, realizing someone was there. A faint smile of thankfulness danced across her lips, and she collapsed in front of him.


	6. Chapter 6

**:::Author's note:::**

**Oh man, sorry about the wait you guys…and thanks for being so patient! Busy busy busy I guess…**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoy this next chapter. It's kinda short, but final exams are tomorrow, so I have to go to bed. Thank you for your reviews! **

**-Comet77**

*****DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN D. GRAY MAN OR ANY OF IT'S CHARACTERS.**

Nicolet found herself in a white void, wondering to herself how she got there. She could have sworn she had just come from the library, but that obviously wasn't where she was now. But something else held her attention.

_N-Nic…? Nic! Are you alright? Wake up!_

There it was again. It echoed throughout the whole place, surrounding her. But…it was so weird. What was it?

It was…sound. A voice perhaps? Maybe this is what they sounded like…

But that makes no sense. A voice? That she could hear? That's impossible.

_Nic! Come on, wake up!_

The place began to shake uncontrollably, making her realize that someone was shaking her. Was she unconscious?

Maybe she could wake herself up like she did in nightmares. She pinched herself, then seeing as that didn't work proceeded to falling backwards. Instead of waking up like she planned, she slammed onto the floor like any normal idiot who fell backwards and smacked her head in the process. She sighed, then sat up, hugging her knees to her chest, deciding to wait it out. The 'voices' as she decided to call them continued.

_Nic…Nicolet! Can you hear me?_

_Lavi, that_'s _not_ _going to help you know…_

That was what appeared to be a female's voice. Lenalee perhaps? And that was Lavi calling to her?

_Nic, come on, wake up! Please, you gotta hear me!_

She looked up at that, then smiled softly. Somehow she understood what they were saying. She had never heard a human voice before in her entire life, but somehow she could understand them.

_Yes, I can hear you…Lavi…_

Right then she felt herself fall into blackness, and all was silent.

Nicolet woke up to have Lavi carrying her down the hallway towards the infirmary. She peered up at him. He was panting; he obviously had been running a while. But something was weird…

Weird as in the tapping noises resounding all around her. Was that his feet? And another…the new noise synched with his panting.

All of a sudden an array of noise bombarded her all at once, making her breath in sharply. It was almost too much.

Lavi skidded to a halt in surprise.

"Nic! Oh, thank goodness!"

Despite already holding her in his arms he held her even closer in a hug. Nicolet felt his arms around her, could see the redness of his hair, but something else was jumping out to her. The sound of his heartbeat, his breathing…everything.

"I was so worried! You just collapsed, and you were so pale and sweaty, and you wouldn't open your eyes-"

He stopped at the look of curiosity showing on her face.

"What…What is it Nic?"

She hesitated, still looking at him intently, a little confusion making it's way into her eyes. She leaned forward, her face inches away from his. Then, to his surprise, she reached up and delicately touched his lips.

Lavi turned redder than his hair and pulled back, almost dropping her.

"N-Nic, what are you doing?"

She paused, looking past him.

"I…I can hear you…"

Lavi's jaw fell to the floor. He couldn't believe what he just heard.

"S-say that again, I don't think I heard you…"

"I can hear you, Lavi."

**Um, please tell me what you think you guys! And so sorry for the wait…I hope you like this chapter though. I had fun writing it. The Writer's Block plague has finally left me, so expect more chapters soon! So, I guess I'll leave you with a slight cliff hanger…*evil laugh***

**-Comet 77**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Hello again! Hope you enjoyed the last chapter…and I thank you all again for being so patient with me. Enjoy!**

**-Comet77**

**!DISCLAIMER! I DO NOT OWN D. GRAY MAN OR ANY OF IT'S CHARACTERS.**

Lavi gently set Nicolet onto her bed. After the Head nurse looked her over, she was given a sleep medication and sent back to her room on strict bed rest, saying the hearing coming back was something to rejoice for, not to worry about. Lavi INSISTED on escorting her there. Well, carrying her there.

He sat down next to her, then clumsily pulled the bottle of medication the head nurse prescribed for her earlier out of his jacket pocket. She looked up at him awkwardly.

"U-um…I can do it myself Lavi…"

Lavi's eyes widened, then he jumped up.

"Oh, I'm sorry! I was just so worried about you earlier…I…I guess I just-"

He was cut off by Nicolet's lips against his. He jumped a little at the sudden action, his eyes as big as saucers. Nicolet pulled back suddenly, embarrassed.

"I-I'm sorry… I wasn't thinking just then…" She looked down at the floor, her face bright red.

However, Lavi did the exact opposite of what she expected. He didn't leave, or run off or yell at her. Instead he lifted her face up, smiled at her, closed his eyes, then brought her into a kiss.

Nicolet was completely caught off guard. Sure she kissed him…but that was an accident, right?

But Nicolet couldn't tell herself to pull away. The feeling of Lavi's lips against hers just felt so…amazing. All she could do was let her eyes flutter close and melt into the kiss.

Lavi was the first to pull away for air, but quickly pulled her back for another go. The kiss was stronger than before; more passionate. But Nicolet didn't mind, positioning herself on his lap with her arms around his neck. But Lavi had another trick up his sleeve; tickling her.

Nicolet gasped to the feeling of Lavi's hands tickling her sides, and he slipped his tongue into her mouth as she squealed in laughter at his touch. She jumped at the sudden movement, not knowing what to do. This was her first kiss…she had absolutely NO IDEA what she was supposed to do at this point…

But Lavi seemed to know exactly what he was doing, and Nicolet let herself fall into it. Before she knew it she found herself lying on the bed, Lavi on top of her, his lips never leaving hers. Nic succumbed to the unknown feelings and emotions running through her mind and body, just letting go. And then-

_Knock knock._

"Nic, are you in there? It's Lenalee! Lavi, I know you're in there, so let me in!"

Nicolet quickly pulled away, looking down at her knees blushing. Lavi couldn't help but smile at the sight, then gently lifted her off of his lap and stood up, motioning for her to do the same.

"You might wanna open it…we don't want Lenalee getting the wrong idea now, do we?"

****

"What? You…you can hear now?"

Nicolet nodded eagerly, snapping her fingers by her ears as proof. Lavi jumped out of the way as Lenalee lunged to gather Nic in a clumsy hug, squeezing the life out of her. Mic glanced at Lavi behind them helplessly, her face turning red from lack of oxygen. Luckily Lavi came to her rescue.

"Uh, I think you better let go of her Lenalee…she can't breath you know…"

Lenalee stopped her squeezing and looked up at her almost unconscious friend, releasing her. Nic collapsed onto the bed panting heavily, Lenalee crouching over her saying sorry over and over. Lavi chuckled at the pair and walked over, sitting next to Nicolet. Lenalee stopped speaking for a moment, a look of alarm on her face.

"Lenalee? What's wrong?" Lavi asked worriedly.

Lenalee looked up at the sound of her name with a playful look on her face.

"Heh, nothing. She just fell asleep. It seems that medicine the Head Nurse gave her is pretty strong. But anyway, this just proved my little_ theory_ I've had going on for a while now…"

Lavi stared at her, clueless as to what she meant. Lenalee went on.

"Uh, let me rephrase that; _you_ just proved to _me _that you like Nicolet. I knew that if I pretended something was wrong with her you wouldn't hesitate to know. You just gave everything away with that one little thing…so tell me; what's goin' on? Hmmmm?"

Lavi didn't know what to say. She figured it out? Was he that obvious? _Great,_ he thought to himself. _Does anyone else know about all this?_

Lenalee stared at him expectantly, obviously wanting the whole story. Lavi sighed.

"Alright," he started, a bit irritated. "I'll tell you…"

**Uh, well, there you have it! This was my first make-out scene I've ever written, so do tell me if it was all right. Thanks a lot you guys! **

**-Comet77**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hear part 8**

**Ummm, sorry for the wait? I know you all probably want to kill me right now…I'm so incredibly late with all of this. I'M SORRY!**

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN D. GRAY MAN OR ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS.**

"**Spill it."**

**Lavi shifted uncomfortably on the bed, avoiding Lenalee's eyes and twiddling his thumbs. Finally he opened his mouth to speak.**

"**Well, ever since the moment I first saw her, I instantly felt like she was special. To me that is."**

**He looked to Lenalee, who nodded for him to continue.**

"**I think the first thing I noticed was the way she looked at people. She always looked them straight in the eyes with this wonderful smile on her face, and in a way, it looked like she could see right through you! I feel like I can't hide anything from her…for some reason, I feel like she knows a lot about the human heart. It's almost like she can read you like an open book, no matter who you are. She can always find the good in you."**

**He paused for a moment, thinking of Kanda. He had already bugged him about Nicolet before, and he had noticed Kanda's little smile at the mention of the girl's name. That meant that he had probably already met her, and had taken a liking to her as well. So even Kanda has a soft side…**

**Lavi looked back at the sleeping girl behind him, lying on her side with her back turned to him. She looked as though she barely made it into the bed before she fell asleep, making Lavi smile to himself at her cuteness. Lenalee cleared her throat loudly.**

"**Huh? Oh, um, sorry…anyway, you're right, I do like her, and…" Lavi didn't finish his sentence due to the loud crash coming from the window. Lenalee jumped back as glass shards shot across the room their way, and Lavi threw himself on top of Nicolet's sleeping form to protect her. Looking up, Lavi saw the silhouette of a man in a black suit and top hat, his deadly butterflies quickly surrounding the bed. **

"**Tyki…"**

"**Yo." answered the Noah blankly. "Would you mind moving aside? I'm afraid I need to take that girl with me." Tyki gestured toward Nicolet. Lavi sat her up and put his arms around her tightly.**

"**Over my dead body."**

**Tyki sighed. **

"**Look, I was trying to be nice, but if you won't cooperate then I just might use force." The Teez around them slowly closed in further.**

**Lavi took out his hammer from its holster, holding it in front of him protectively.**

"**Not a chance."**

**The corners of Tyki's lips eased into a wicked smile, his eyes burning with anticipation.**

"**So be it."**

**Without another word Tyki grabbed Lavi's hammer from his hands like it was nothing, snapping it in half like it was nothing. Defenseless, Lavi was slammed to the ground, his energy quickly draining away. He tried to move, but his limbs wouldn't let him. **

**Lavi tried to remember his last battle with Tyki. Had he gotten stronger? Lavi was strong too, and he put up a pretty good fight the last time they met, but it seemed like he was absolutely no match for him now. **

**The sound of Lenalee's scream as she was thrown against the wall brought Lavi back to reality. He opened his eyes to Tyki leaning over Nicolet, then grabbing her and throwing her sleeping form over his shoulder. **

"**Nic!"**

**Lavi struggled to get up as Tyki made his way toward the window to make his exit. Tyki turned around at the feeling of someone's hand grasping his ankle, his eyes resting on Lavi, desperately clinging on to him.**

"**Give…give her back! You monster!"**

**Tyki swiftly kicked Lavi in the face, making Lavi's grip subside. Tyki stared down at the unconscious figure on the floor, a smirk appearing on his face. **

"**I win." **


	9. Chapter 9

Hear part 9~

Nicolet found herself in a dark cell, a makeshift bed in the corner with a thin blanket and pillow coated with dust being the only objects in the room with her. It was cold; her nightgown didn't seem to be keeping her very warm. But where was she? Panic started building its way up her throat as she remembered falling asleep with Lavi next to her, but she did anything but sleep peacefully. The events that happened afterwards played into her mind while she lay unconscious, Lavi and Lenalee being thrown to the ground, Lavi calling out to her…and she couldn't do anything about it. Her limbs would not budge, and all she could do was watch the scene in her mind as her friends were almost killed. And that man in black- Tyki, was it? He's the one that took her away; he's the one that hurt Lavi.

Nicolet stood up, her bare feet numb against the cold cement floor, and walked to the one window in the room. It was too high up for her to really look through it, but as she looked up she could she the stars of the night sky shining brightly, indicating that she wasn't in that "ark" that Komui told her about, run by the Millennium Earl. She was definitely in a normal building… and judging by the brightness of the stars, it seemed like she was in some kind of building in the middle of no where. Making it that much harder for her to be found and rescued.

"Wondering where you are, girly?"

Nicolet jumped at the voice behind her. The man who had kidnapped her was standing outside of her cell, his overcoat thrown over his shoulder and a cigarette in his right fingers. This is the guy…

Hatred instantly made itself known in Nicolet's body, and she threw herself against the bars, her hand around Tyki's neck. The man only smirked.

"Whoa, quite a temper there. Honestly girl, I only came here to see how you were doing. If you don't play nice I just might break the rules myself. "

Before Nicolet knew it she was thrown against the opposite wall, her head smacking the cement behind her. As she slid down blood began dripping down the side of her face, and the wind was knocked out of her. Tyki laughed.

"As you can see, you're defenseless against me. It would be better for you if you just do as you're told like the good little girl you are."

All Nicolet could do was nod in response. A butterfly appeared on Tyki's shoulder, affectionately flapping one wing against his cheek. Tyki began gently petting it with his index finger, cooing at it and smiling. Then he glanced at Nicolet, a heap on the floor.

"Teez," he began suddenly. "Stay with this girl. If she does anything funny, you're more than welcome to make a feast out of her." And with that he was gone, the Teez fluttering over to her, perching itself on the sill of the tiny window.

Lavi woke up in a hospital bed in the infirmary, the head nurse at his side changing his IV.

"Ah, you're awake." She said gently. "How are you feeling dear?"

Lavi grunted, his usual smile trying to make its way to his face half-heartedly. He tried to sit up.

"Whoa there, not a chance Romeo. You've got serious injuries."

Lavi chuckled.

"Head nurse, I'm fine-" Lavi stopped speaking immediately after seeing the look in the Head Nurse's eyes. Uh oh. Devil Nurse is about to make herself known. Lavi braced himself for the extremely loud lecture that was to come.

"I SAID STAY STILL LAVI! I SPENT THREE HOURS BANDAGING YOU UP AND IF YOU RUIN THOSE BANDAGES I'LL MESS UP YOUR HEAD, GOT IT?"

Lavi shrank back in his bed obediently.

"Yes ma'am."

The Head Nurse sighed and continued her work of changing his IV. Lavi flinched at the sudden prick of the needle, but tried to hide his momentary lapse of masculinity. The patron laughed.

"Honestly Lavi, if you don't like needles, just say so. I would have been gentler if you had asked."

Lavi looked away in embarrassment.

"Yeah right."

The patron smiled and put a bandage over his IV to hold it in place. When she turned to walk away, Lavi stopped her.

"Uh, Nurse?"

"That's Head Nurse to you mister."

"Oh, sorry, but…how's Lenalee? And how soon can I get out of here?"

She sighed.

"Lenalee's fine. She just had a little concussion, so she should be out of here in a few days. But Lavi, your injuries are very serious. You're lucky to be alive right now. It'll take about a month for you to heal properly… "

Lavi sat up quickly. "What? A _month_?"

The Head nurse roughly pushed him back down.

"Yes, I'm afraid so."

"But Nicolet-"

"Nicolet will be fine."

Lavi looked to who had made the sudden statement. Komui stood in the doorway, a grave look on his face.

"We are sending out a search party for her right now. Kanda, Allen, and Marie are on it. I'm sending more exorcists and finders as well as General Teidoll and General Cloud Nine. Lavi, you just rest here."

Lavi glared at him menacingly.

"There's no way I can do that."

Komui returned the glare right back.

"There is no way that you can heal in time. You'll only be a nuisance in the shape you're in right now. Stay here. That's an order."

Lavi looked away at the word 'nuisance', clenching his fists and swallowing hard.

"I'll do it in a week." He said quietly.

Komui blinked in surprise. "What was that?"

"I said I'll do it in a week."

"Do what exactly?"

"I'll recover in a week, that's what."

"Lavi, that's impossible-"

"I don't care!"

Komui stayed silent, furrowing his brow in frustration. The Head Nurse shook her head sadly.

"Nic's out there somewhere, probably hurt, and you're telling me that I need to stay here and wait for you guys to go save her for me? No way! I need to find her! I need to make sure she's all right!"

Komui sighed in reluctant defeat.

"…_fine_, Lavi. If you think you can recover in a week, then I'll give you just that. You have seven days to get healthy. In that time you are only permitted to train and work out your injuries, and of course eat and sleep. You are to do nothing, and I mean nothing, that is in any way harmful to your health or well being. I'm counting on you to accomplish all this, Lavi."

Lavi nodded vigorously, his usual goofy grin finally appearing on his face once again. This time it was anything but forced.

"You got it Chief."

**A/N: I forgot to thank a lot of people for their tips in their reviews! Every single one of them was highly appreciated, and I thank you all very much!**

**-comet77**


End file.
